Mets 7, Nationals 1: Ewing, Then Mauricio Twice

Six zeros, then Ewing found the seats

September 26, 2026 - Washington - The New York Mets did not have a run through six innings at Nationals Park. Jake Irvin had them in a 1-0 hole. Then A.J. Ewing hit a three-run homer to right-center, his 11th, Carson Benge and Francisco Alvarez scoring with him.

Ronny Mauricio followed him. Solo shot to right, his second of the year. 4-1. The Mets beat the Washington Nationals 7-1, scored four in the seventh, one on an error in the eighth, and two more on Mauricio's second homer in the ninth.

Overcast. 67 degrees. Wind 16 mph in from left. First pitch 12:37 p.m. Attendance 27,284. The game lasted 2 hours, 43 minutes. New York had nine hits. Washington had three.

Both clubs are out of it. The Mets are 74-87. The Nationals are 76-85. Saturday was a penultimate game and a defensive experiment. Brett Baty started at shortstop for the first time in his career, manager Andy Green said before the game, per MLB.com, with an eye on 2027 roster flexibility if Francisco Lindor needs a day.

Baty handled one chance and missed the other. He also reached on a fielding error in the eighth that scored Benge. The win did not wait on the experiment. It waited on the seventh.

Tong's nine punchouts, Irvin's fifth inning that wasn't the problem

Jonah Tong threw five innings: three hits, one earned, one walk, nine strikeouts, 87 pitches. Career high in strikeouts, per the MLB highlight list. Washington's only run came in the third, Nasim Núñez scoring on Abimelec Ortiz's sacrifice fly to Benge. 1-0. Tong did not give them another.

Irvin (the loss, 2-10) lasted five innings after Connelly Early had thrown three scoreless on 34 pitches. Irvin's line: seven hits, five runs, four earned, two walks, six strikeouts, two homers, 101 pitches. The first four innings of his outing were quiet. The seventh was not his to finish. Ewing and Mauricio stacked homers, and the 1-0 became a 4-1 before Washington's bullpen could reset the inning.

Dedniel Núñez (the win, 2-1) struck out the side in the sixth on 12 pitches. Tobias Myers threw a clean seventh. Nate Lavender threw a clean eighth. Devin Williams finished the ninth on 18 pitches. Four Mets relievers. No hits. No runs.

Richard Lovelady took the ninth for Washington and walked two, then watched Mauricio hit his third of the year to right, Ewing scoring. 7-1. That was the last swing that mattered.

Mauricio from both sides, Benge all afternoon

Mauricio went 2-for-4 with two homers, three RBI, and two runs. First career multi-homer game, and he did it from both sides of the plate, per the Associated Press recap. Ewing went 1-for-3 with a walk, a homer, two runs, and three RBI. Benge went 3-for-5 with a double and two runs. Juan Soto went 2-for-4 with a hit-by-pitch and did not drive anyone in. He also did not need to.

James Wood went 2-for-4. That was half of Washington's hit column. Ortiz drove in the only run without a hit. The Nationals left five on and never put a second run on the board.

Green said the shortstop look "serves a purpose in '27," per MLB.com. Lindor is still the shortstop. Baty is still the utility piece they want to stretch. Mauricio, the MLB recap noted, has not hit enough over 105 big-league games to force the issue. Saturday he hit enough to own the box score. Two homers. Three RBI. A 7-1 that started 1-0 and never felt like Washington's game after Ewing's first swing in the seventh.

AthX Engine after the baseball

AthX Engine (our projection and scoring system) put the Mets at 16 team fantasy points, tied for fourth on Saturday. Tong had 18 pitching FP, third among arms. Mauricio had 13 hitting FP. Ewing had 9. Benge had 6.

Fantasy points measure the night under platform scoring rules. Share prices also move with traders through dynamic pricing. They are related. They are not the same number.

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*Sources: MLB.com schedule; MLB Gameday wrap; ESPN scoreboard; ESPN box score; AthX Engine daily scoring. Information only; not financial advice.*